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NEW ORLEANS – Even on a weekend brimming with top-shelf Division I outdoor track & field conference championship meets, one in particular stands out among the rest.

Seventeen top-25 teams, with six in the top five between men and women. Two defending national men’s team co-champions. Both current No. 1 teams. Eighteen individuals or relay teams atop the national descending order lists. Eight members of the Watch Lists for The Bowerman Trophy, collegiate track & field’s highest individual honor.

All that only scratches the surface of what is expected to unfold this Thursday through Sunday at the SEC Championships in Lexington, Ky. – this week’s USTFCCCA National Meet of the Week.

Before delving too deeply into the details of SECs, it should be noted that there are other exceptional conference meets taking place around the nation this weekend.

Defending indoor men’s and women’s national champions Oregon – both ranked No. 3 – will take on a strong field at the Pac-12 Championships this Saturday and Sunday in Pullman, Wash., while the No. 2 Texas women, along with the No. 5 Oklahoma State and No. 6 Texas Tech men, are the top-ranked teams entering the Big 12 Championships this Friday through Sunday in Lubbock, Texas.

Where to begin with the SEC Championships? So many plot lines, so many match-ups. How about the ranked teams involved?

Men’s Top 25

Women’s Top 25

1. Florida

1. Florida

2. Texas A&M

4. Texas A&M

4. Arkansas

5. Georgia

7. Georgia

6. Kentucky

9. LSU

7. LSU

11. Alabama

8. Arkansas

18. Mississippi

13. Missouri

19. Kentucky

19. Mississippi State

21. Tennessee

In many ways, the meet is setting up to be a dress rehearsal for the national championships in Eugene, Ore., on June 11-14. Six of the top eight women’s teams in the USTFCCCA National Team Computer rankings, including No. 1 Florida, will be duking it out for the league crown, while the always-intense rivalry between the defending men’s national team co-champion No. 1 Florida and No. 2 Texas A&M headlines a men’s field with six top-11 teams.

But while it may feel like a national championship-caliber meet, the results of this meet over this past decade have been anything but predictive of NCAA finish – adding yet another wrinkle to the rivalries between these top-flight programs later this summer in Eugene.

Not counting vacated NCAA titles, only four women’s teams (2013 Texas A&M, 2007/2008 LSU and 2005 South Carolina) have won the SEC crown and went on to finish the highest of SEC teams at NCAAs with only LSU in 2008 winning both.

Men’s SEC winners have fared even more poorly at NCAAs over the past 10 years (not counting vacated titles), without a team winning both the SEC and NCAA title even though the past five NCAA champions have come from the SEC.

Historical NCAA implications aside, this meet promises to excite in virtually every single event.

Though every event has the potential to be a must-see event, here are a few individuals to watch (by event with national rank):

Men’s 200

Women’s 200

Women’s Long Jump

#1 Dukes (Florida)*

#2 Jefferson (Florida)

#1 Emanuel (LSU)

#2 Ernest (LSU)

#3 Ekpone (TAMU)

#2 Porter (Georgia)

#2 Hardy Jr (TAMU)

#7 Brown (TAMU)*

#4 Farquharson (Miss St)

Batson (Alabama)Indoor Nat’l Champ

#9 Bryant (Kentucky)*Indoor Nat’l Champ

Men’s Discus

Men’s 400

Women’s 1500

#1 Evans (Kentucky)*

#1 Lendore (TAMU)*Indoor Nat’l Champ

#1 Brown (Arkansas)

#3 Bailey (Tennessee)

#2 Hall (Florida)

#2 McGee (Florida)

#4 Brown (LSU)

#4 Graham Jr. (Florida)

#3 Strausa (Florida)

#5 Scott (Arkansas)

Men’s Triple Jump

Men’s 800

#7 Hamilton (Georgia)

#2 May (Arkansas)

#1 McBride (Miss St.)*

#4 Young (Ole Miss)

#4 Obinwa (Florida)

Women’s 100H

#7 Dendy (Florida)

#5 Rono (Arkansas)

#2 Harrison (Kentucky)*

#7 Grethen (Georgia)

#3 Stowers (LSU)

Women’s Shot Put

#9 Arroyo (Florida)

#6 Owens (Florida)

#1 Peoples (Missouri)*

#10 Neal (Kentucky)

#2 Rushin (Missouri)

Women’s 400H

#7 Bliss (LSU)

Men’s 110H

#2 Little (TAMU)

#9 Muzaric (Auburn)

#1 Davis II (TAMU)*Defending Nat’l Champ

#3 Harrison (Kentucky)*

#6 Lovett (Florida)

#5 Tracey (LSU)

Women’s Heptathlon

#1 Williams (Georgia)*Indoor Hept Champ

Men’s Pole Vault

Women’s Javelin

#1 Kendricks (Ole Miss)*Defending Nat’l Champ

#2 Vucenovic (Florida)

Men’s Decathlon

#7 Blankenship (Tenn.)

#3 Jones (Georgia)Defending Nat’l Champ

#1 Scantling (Georgia)

#11 Irwin (Arkansas)Two-time Indoor Champ

#4 Nukker (Florida)

#2 Uibo (Georgia)

*The Bowerman Watch List (or also receiving votes)

And that’s without even mentioning the relays. The 4×400 rivalry between top-ranked Florida and No. 2 Texas A&M is perhaps the most intense in the nation, regardless of event. With Florida’s Arman Hall and Texas A&M’s Deon Lendore set to duel on the anchor leg with the potential for an SEC title on the line and LSU’s indoor champion squad also in the field, an already excellent meet could very well finish with fireworks.

Both top-ranked 4×100 squads — the Florida men and Texas A&M women — are in action with multiple top-10 squads also on the start lists.